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BUDAPEST Oct 20 (Reuters) - Hungary's parliament ratified
in a near unanimous vote an agreement on the Nabucco natural gas
pipeline ironed out by governments earlier this year and signed
by the pipeline's host countries in July.

The July agreement, which irons out details over transit and
tax issues for the hosts, was a major political boost for the
project and could speed up Nabucco, which has been marred by
political infighting and is still dogged by questions over
supply and financing. [ID:nLD637622]

The 7.9 billion euro Nabucco aims to carry natural gas from
the Middle East and the Caspian region to central Europe to
reduce the region's reliance on Russian gas. Companies involved
in the project aim for first deliveries by the fourth quarter of
2014. [ID:nL1538099]

In 2015, the pipeline's first full year of operation, it
expects to transport 8 billion cubic metres of gas from Iraq's
Kurdistan region. Deliveries should rise to 31 bcm once the
pipeline is fully running and additional supplies are secured,
probably from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.